Snakes that
have been Attacked by Rodents

It
is always advisable not to feed live rats or mice to your
snake. They can easily injure your snake by biting it. Although
the snake is obviously much larger than the rodent that you
would be feeding it, the rodent can still cause considerable
harm to the snake as it fights for its life. The most common
kind of injury is bites and scratches. The teeth of most mice
are very shark which can certainly cut
into the skin of your snake.

You should never feed your snake
rodents that have come from the wild. More often then not
these rodents will be infected with some sort of a parasite
or disease that can be transferred to your snake. The most
common way they can be transported to your snake is through
biting it but some diseases can even be transferred just by
the snake eating the rodent.

If the wound is serious it will
be necessary to take your snake to the veterinarian. The veterinarian
will ensure that the snake is bandaged up properly and that
the wound is not yet infected. Even if it is just a small
wound you will still need to be very careful in ensuring that
the wound does not become infected. Infections to your snake
can cause serious side effects and may require subsequent
visits to the veterinarian.

The two most important thing you
can do to avoid these injuries is to resist the temptation
to feed your snake live rodents and never use wild rodents.